Well, that’s what the song always sounded like to me. When you’re a hammer… (and I do try to be a hammer!) …

Surely the subject of that years-ago Robert Palmer MTV cheesecake staple must be Gibson, the litigation-addled guitar company. (Yes, one of the three guitars in the video may very well have been a Gibson, as I vaguely remember it!) And, as I’ll explain, they’re at it again.

Not that litigation isn’t music to my ears. It is! So I’m going to enjoy — I’m going to give thanks, even — for this posting from Trademark Scroll that, well, is just this Scribd upload of the complaint with the highly descriptive title, “Gibson Guitar is suing multiple defendants, including Wal-Mart, Amazon, eBay and others over trademark infringement.” I actually see the outlines of a strategy: keep thinking of defendants until you find one you can win against!

Works for me! Especially considering that, well, there is always the possibility that this time Gibson really is right. Right?

7 Responses to “Gibson continues its IP-based business plan”

Good thing Stradivarius isn’t around to yell at all the fiddle monkeys for copying his uniform density design. (“Hey, quit using wood from Croatia to make your violins, you IP thieves!! I came up with the idea of using wood from maple trees — moi! — not you! You go use an oak tree, you, or you’re gonna get it!”).

You’d think Gibson would have learned its lesson by now and stick to handing out free guitars on its little island in Second Life.

The question of whether consumers are likely to be confused is the signal inquiry that determines if a trademark infringement claim is valid. This blog is about trademark law, copyright law, free speech (mostly as it relates to the Internet) and legal issues related to blogging.

It's easy it is to game almost any ranking system, not that I've tried to. As such. These are just what they are.

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THIS BLOG IS ONLY A BLOG, NOT LEGAL ADVICE. IT IS IN PART AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR LEGAL SERVICES BY ME, RONALD D. COLEMAN, BUT I AM NOT YOUR LAWYER. YOU ARE NOT MY CLIENT. JUST WALK BESIDE ME AND BE MY FRIEND.

*The term maven is used to mean "wise guy" here and is not meant to suggest that I am certified or otherwise authorized under bar rules to claim "expertise" in any field of legal practice. But try me.